The Cariboo Cougars used a quick start and a balanced attack to beat the North Island Silvertips 5-1 on Sunday in Nanaimo.
Sunday’s victory in the B.C. Hockey Major Midget League followed a 3-3 tie between the Cougars and Silvertips on Saturday.
In Sunday’s game, the Cats had a 3-0 lead after the first period on goals by John Herrington, Hunter Brown and Jaydon Merritt. Alexander Wienecke of the Silvertips was the only goal-scorer in the second period. In the third, Devan Minard and Jackson Hassman answered back for the Cougars. Hassman also dished out two assists for a three-point game. Cariboo forward Fischer O’Brien also had a pair of helpers.
In the nets, affiliate player Kenny Gerow got the start for the Cougars and earned the win. Joshua Doherty took the loss for the Silvertips.
In Saturday’s tie, Brown scored twice for the Cats and O’Brien had the other goal. Gabriel Shipley, Jacob Thomas and Miles Carson were the marksmen for the Silvertips. The Cats were up 3-2 after the second period but Carson scored with 5:04 to play in the third. Overtime solved nothing, but the Cougars did have to kill off a penalty to Brown during those five minutes.
Gerow (Cariboo) and Doherty (North Island) were the goaltenders.
With the results, the Cougars (12-4-1-1) moved into third place, one point ahead of the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds (12-5-0-1). The Silvertips, meanwhile, are in ninth place in the 11-team league with a record of 4-11-3-0.
The Cougars will be back in Kin 1 this coming weekend for games against the Valley West Giants. Start times are 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.
The Giants began the Nov. 23-24 weekend in eighth place with a mark of 3-7-2-4. They played a pair of games against the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs.